What is Real-Time Bidding? (RTB)

We remember the days when you had to purchase ads manually. Advertisers had to look for websites to buy ad space, communicate with website owners, and sign an agreement based on a media plan. Believe us when we say it was a drawn-out and frustrating process! Real time bidding (RTB) did away with all that, making it easier for companies to purchase ads online. Learn the answer to the question, "What is real time bidding?" and how to add RTB to your digital marketing strategy.

What is real time bidding in advertising?

So, what is real time bidding? Well, RTB is a type of programmatic advertising that lets you buy ads online in automated auctions. Unlike before, you don't have to communicate with publishers to determine how much these ads will cost or where they appear on a website. Instead, you can place as many ads as you like on as many sites as you like without any of the hard work. The RTB process works like this. Website owners (known as publishers) provide ad inventory to an ad exchange, the technology that lets advertisers and publishers buy and sell ads. They do this through a supply-side platform (SSP). You then bid for this inventory based on impressions (the number of views an ad will generate) through a demand-side platform (DSP), software that lets you manage your ad exchange account. Think of an ad exchange as a 'middle man' that facilitates the buying and selling process, while DSPs and SSPs are where advertisers and publishers manage ad campaigns. In most cases, you won't be the only advertiser bidding for inventory. Other companies will want to purchase ads with publishers, too. So the advertiser that makes the highest bid is the one that has their ad displayed on a website. While this sounds like a manual process, it's not. RTB is fully automated, meaning bids and transactions happen in just a few seconds. Your DSP matches your bid to available inventory in real time, so you can purchase hundreds or thousands of ads automatically.

How can I add RTB to my digital marketing?

Real time bidding is a fast and convenient way to promote your products and services to potential customers online. However, it's not the only way to achieve this goal. We think RTB advertising is even more effective when combined with search engine optimization (SEO) strategies:

On-page SEO

Optimizing website elements so your site appears higher in search results can also increase visibility. Gathering relevant keywords based on search queries, adding those keywords to content, creating meta descriptions, and updating links will help you rank higher on search engines and drive more traffic to your site. Use on-page SEO alongside RTB for greater reach.

Content Creation

Creating website pages and blog posts that inform, influence, and entertain your target customers is a fantastic way to improve your position on search engines like Google. Use content creation with RTB to get more value from your SEO and digital advertising endeavors.

Technical SEO

Upgrading the technical aspects of your website is also great for SEO. For example, optimizing your website for mobile devices can improve the user experience for smartphone users and boost your search rankings. Alternatively, you can work on page loading times to improve the user experience. When used with RTB, technical SEO can transform your digital marketing strategy.

How can RTB ads help my company?

RTB takes the pain out of conventional digital advertising:

No need to communicate with publishers

As previously mentioned, real time bidding is an automated process that doesn't require you to communicate directly with publishers. You don't need to agree on prices or work out the best places to position your ads. RTB does all the work for you.

RTB is Measurable

It's easy to measure programmatic ad campaigns with the latest tools and technology. Learn which ads resonate with audiences the most and which ads fail to make a splash. That can help you fine-tune your future campaigns and get more value from your digital marketing spend.

Reach Targets

RTB involves bidding on advertising space on a per-impression basis, meaning you pay for advertising based on the number of people who view your ads. That can help you reach more targets across the internet.While RTB provides many benefits, it can be difficult to execute. We discovered that 50% of marketers lack the expertise and knowledge to run successful programmatic ad campaigns. So our digital display advertising services prove useful for companies wanting to invest in RTB but don't know how to go about it. Here at Symphonic Digital, we adopt a data-driven and performance-based approach to programmatic advertising that builds your brand and increases ad engagement. We'll find the right partners for your ads, monitor your campaigns by analyzing real time data, and make changes to your advertising strategy based on results. Let us help you understand the answer to the question, "What is RTB in advertising?"

How to set up RTB

You can create a new ad campaign by choosing a DSP like Yahoo! Ad Tech or Amazon DSP. (Remember, publishers will use an SSP to list ad inventory.) You will then set targeting parameters that let you reach potential customers interested in your products and services. For example, you can set parameters that target prospects in a particular region. Your DSP will determine a price to bid on ads, while a publisher's SSP will decide whether to accept your bid. An ad exchange such as Google Ad Exchange automates the ad buying and selling process. If RTB sounds complicated, that's because it can be. We recommend working with an expert to ensure your ads deliver the results you need.